Best airlines you've never heard of

As a Qatar Airways television advertisement that jokingly masquerades as a weather report says: "As you fly over the Pyrénées today, there will be a torrent of Earl Grey tea, lifting later." It is one of a series of ads from the airline that have become hits online, attracting viewers and probably more than a few new passengers to the flag carrier based in Doha. Indeed, Qatar Airways and other growing Gulf carriers such as Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways and Dubai's Emirates Airline have developed formidable international reputations, bolstered by imaginative marketing campaigns as well as reputations for good service. By contrast, China's three main international airlines, Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines, are in comparison relatively low-profile globally. All are among the top 50 Chinese brands, according to a study this year by BrandZ, with Air China at number 16, China Eastern at 24 and China Southern at 28. Yet their overseas profiles are modest. "Recognition outside China is not there … their priority is the domestic market," says Chen Junsong, a lecturer in marketing at the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai. In 2009, the most recent year for which figures have been published, Chinese airlines carried four times as many domestic as international passengers, 198 million compared with 49.2 million. Their international routes are, however, likely to figure more prominently as increasing numbers of Chinese travel overseas as tourists. The second-biggest economy in the world is set to be the fastest-growing market for overseas air travel during the coming years, with the International Air Transport Association predicting a 10.8 per cent annual increase in the country's international passenger numbers up to 2014. It will bring the number of passengers flying into and out of China each year to 82.1 million. "They're adding more and more international routes and long-haul flights, for example to the United States and Europe, and that's driving a lot of the impetus for improving standards and quality," says James Roy, a senior analyst at China Market Research Group in Shanghai. Still, the big three Chinese airlines have a "state-owned image" to many passengers, unlike their Asian rivals. "Singapore Airlines is heavily under state control but has an image of something that's premium, and so that's going to be a very difficult thing for them to go against," says Mr Roy. While the service is fine, Mr Roy believes China's big three must improve their cabins if they are to compete with the major global players. "Their cabin amenities are quite basic compared to a lot of their competitors in terms of the entertainment systems," he says. Already, China's major airlines are relatively well-regarded in terms of safety, according to Tony Dixon, the editor of the magazine Airliner World, based in Britain, so at least that is a step in the right direction to building a brand. "This is mainly because they use western airliners. Most of the Chinese stuff is ultra-modern and they build Airbuses and they build Embraers," he says, referring to the Airbus joint-venture plant in Tianjin and the similar Embraer facility in Harbin in the far north-east. It is more than just an expansion in international travel by Chinese tourists that is encouraging airlines to focus on overseas routes. A vast high-speed-rail building programme is increasing competition on domestic services, while low-cost carriers are likely to expand aggressively within China once more are cleared for take-off. Among the issues that analysts have suggested could create turbulence in the years ahead is China's lack of well-developed hub airports that can manage large volumes of transfer traffic efficiently. Another question is whether the airlines have the management skill to compete with European and Gulf airlines that are ramping up services to China, including to second-tier cities such as Chongqing and Chengdu. "In Europe, [Chinese airlines] have to compete with these good-service, good-management airlines. I doubt they're ready to do that," says Guo Shijun, an aviation specialist at Cranfield University in the UK who is also a visiting lecturer at Beijing Institute of Technology. As the Chinese carriers forge stronger links with their global alliance partners - China Southern and China Eastern with SkyTeam and Air China with Star Alliance - there may be benefits in terms of the transfer of expertise. Yet for all the talk of global expansion, executives are cautious about expanding international services too fast. Last October, China Eastern cancelled an order for 24 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and instead decided to buy 45 of the much smaller Boeing 737, a workhorse in the country's domestic aviation sector. "We are not optimistic about the international market in the next two years, for the weakening global economy hurts air travel," Luo Zhuping, a China Eastern board member, told media at the time. Longer term, however, international expansion will continue. Some predictions have suggested that in less than two decades from now, as much as 60 per cent of the business of Chinese airlines could be international. Mr Roy believes focusing on a distinctly Asian identity, and making use of the positive attributes that go with this, could be the key to China's big three strengthening their image as overseas growth increases. "I think they can take a page from the book of Singapore Airlines or Thai [Airways]. They are very much Asian [airlines] themselves, with a particular Asian service," Mr Roy says. "Cathay Pacific have marketed themselves well in showing a good premium image and with Thai Airways you really think you're in Thailand." So in the future it may be China Southern, China Eastern or Air China, not Qatar Airways, that is attracting the world's attention with new international television marketing campaigns. twitter: Follow our breaking business news and retweet to your followers. Follow us

Best airlines you've never heard of

Buildings Brics: China's major carriers are well regarded for safety and are growing internationally, but they need an image makeover to be able to compete with the likes of Etihad Airways and other airlines.